Avian Quarantine

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which recommendations from the report of the Independent Review of Avian Quarantine have been implemented.

Ben Bradshaw: The Government and the Devolved Administrations published their response to the Independent Review of UK Avian Quarantine on19 April. This is available on the Defra website:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/diseases/control/avianquarantine/pov-strategy/index.htm
	The Government and the Devolved Administrations either accept, or accept in principle, 29 of the 32 recommendations. However, some of the responses are preliminary, pending further consultation with stakeholders or completion of further studies. For many of the recommendations, the European Commission would be responsible for taking forward any necessary action. Two of the recommendations require further consideration, and one recommendation regarding pet birds has been rejected. These are detailed in the Government response.
	There is currently an EU ban on imports of captive wild birds, which is due to expire on 31 July. A decision on whether to extend the ban will be taken at the EU Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health in June.
	The key elements of the Government response are currently being implemented and will be in place before imports resume. In addition, all approved quarantine premises will need to be reassessed against revised standards before they can accept any birds into quarantine.
	In April 2005 the European Commission requested the European Food Safety Authority to carry out a review of the animal health and welfare aspects of imports of captive wild birds, which is due to report in October 2006. This will inform EU policy and we await their opinion with interest.

Dairy Industry

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of (a) the pattern of volume output in the milk year and (b) levels of profit derived at each stage of the dairy food chain.

Barry Gardiner: Final calculations about milk production are still being made, but Although it appears that wholesale milk production was lower in 2005-06 than 2004-05, it is too early to tell whether this is a long term trend or has been caused by weather, restructuring etc. The UK is more often under quota than over it and it must be remembered that quota is a limit on production and not a target.
	The Department has not made an assessment of the operation or profitability of the dairy market. However, the Milk Development Council publishes a report on an annual basis which examines dairy supply chain margins. The last report covering 2004-05 showed that dairy supply chain margins did not change significantly from the year before. Dairy farm income rose slightly as a result of marginally higher farmgate prices and the payment of the dairy premium. Processor margins varied during the period. Retail margins generally continued to increase (a Europe-wide phenomenon).

Dairy Industry

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make it his policy to establish a regulator of the dairy market.

Barry Gardiner: The Government supported the conclusion of the Environment, Rood and Rural Affairs Select Committee in 2004, that there was no compelling evidence in favour of setting up a regulatory body to oversee the dairy industry. It is difficult to see how a regulator could determine a fair price other than by reference to a market price. A price regulator would almost certainly be incompatible with EU competition law and with the (common organisation of the market in milk and milk products.

Departmental Policies

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will set out with statistical evidence relating as closely as possible to West Lancashire constituency the effects in West Lancashire of changes to his Department's policies since 1997.

Barry Gardiner: Since the Department was established in 2001, we have put in place a considerable programme of reforms and improvements. For example, action on sustainable development, climate change and energy, sustainable consumption and production, natural resource protection, sustainable rural communities, and a sustainable farming and food sector. A summary of achievements relating to these policy areas can be found at: http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/achievements.htm. I am confident that the West Lancashire constituency will have benefited from these.
	In particular, the West Lancashire constituency has benefited from funding through the National Waste Minimisation and Recycling Fund as well as the Waste Performance and Efficiency Grant to deliver household waste recycling levels that are currently well above the national average. Singly, or in partnership with other Lancashire authorities, West Lancashire has received more than £7 million to support progress in this area in the last three years.
	Under the Nitrates Directive, around 80 per cent. of the West Lancashire constituency was designated as an Nitrate Vulnerable Zone (NVZ) in 2002; currently about 55 per cent. of England is designated. Farmers in NVZs are required to follow an action programme aimed at reducing the risk of nitrates loss; for example by limiting the amount of Nitrogen applied on the farm during the year and by not applying manure or fertilisers during certain times of the year.
	Since 2003, local authority performance on street cleanliness has been measured through best value performance indicator BV199. This assesses the percentage of survey sites in each local authority area with unacceptable levels of litter and detritus. In 2003-04 West Lancashire scored 18.2 per cent. against a national average of21.2 per cent., and in 2004-05 19 per cent. against a national average of 18.1 per cent. These results are for West Lancashire district, comprising the constituencies of West Lancashire and South Ribble. Data are not available at the constituency level.
	In March 2005 we announced that Lancashire would be one of eight rural pathfinders in England. The pathfinder initiative is a key part of the Government's Rural Strategy and reflects the Government's commitment to devolve decision-making and resources to the local level. The Lancashire rural pathfinder is helping to ensure greater co-ordination of rural delivery programmes, including testing new and innovative methods to bring about improvements in the delivery of services to rural communities and businesses.
	Lancashire has also proved to be a fertile ground for our Defra's Project Based Schemes which are generally available to farmers to help them develop new business opportunities and widen the skills they already possess. For example, Farmer Ted's Farm Park, located at Worral House Farm just outside Southport, was opened in 2003 with the help of funding from the Rural Enterprise Scheme. In the first 18 months it received over 38,000 visitors including 480 school trips. The attraction also contributes to the local economy by employing 10 full-time and 30 part-time employees.
	The RPA will be releasing details of payments made under the new Single Payment Scheme (SPS) in due course. It will publish an annual figure for payments to each recipient under the SPS drawn from its financial records. The information will be extracted and published on the RPA website later this year.
	Indicators of environmental quality for West Lancashire district are given as follows, they are for water quality and waste and recycling. Data for other indicators are available only either at regional and/or national level and not local level, or for individual monitoring sites not within the area local to West Lancashire. For some indicators data for 1997 are not available and the nearest year for which data are available has been given.
	
		
			 Results from General Quality Assessment monitoring of water quality for river stretches within West Lancashire DC 
			  Percentage of total assessed river length which is of: 
			 Water quality Good quality Fair quality Poor quality Bad quality Total km 
			 Biological quality  
			 2000 3 72 22 2 111 
			 2004 4 87 8 0 111 
			   
			 Chemical quality  
			 1997 0 30 67 3 145 
			 2000 20 68 12 0 145 
			 2004 19 69 13 0 145 
		
	
	
		
			 Nitrate and phosphate concentrations 
			 Water quality Concentration more than 30 mg NO3/I Total km 
			 1995 62 145 
			 2000 60 145 
			 2004 59 145 
		
	
	
		
			 Water quality Percentage of river length with concentration more than 0.1 mg P/I phosphate Total km 
			 1995 73 145 
			 2000 76 145 
			 2004 76 145 
		
	
	
		
			 Recycling rate for West Lancashire DC—Best Value Performance Indicators (BVPIs) 
			 Waste and recycling Percentage of household waste recycled and composted 
			 1997-98 9.1 
			 2004-95 26.2 
			 Note:  There have been some change in definitions between in the BVPIs between 1997-98 and 2004-05 but figures should be broadly comparable. 
		
	
	Water quality data are from the "e-Digest of environmental statistics" on Defra's website at: http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/statistics/index.htm The BVPI data are from the Audit Commission's website at: http://www.audit-commission.gov.uk/performance/dataprovision-previous.asp.
	Defra provides a range of comprehensive statistical information. This is available on the Department's website at: http://statistics.defra.gov.uk/esg/default.asp

Rural Payments Agency

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the total running costs of the Rural Payments Agency and its predecessor were in each of the last three years.

Barry Gardiner: The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) is an Executive agency of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and was formed on 16 October 2001. The previous three years' costs therefore only relate to RPA.
	RPA's gross running costs for these years were as follows:
	
		
			  Amount (£ million) 
			 2002-03 (1)186.4 
			 2003-04 198.3 
			 2004-05 249.2 
			 (1) Restated figure under merger accounting 
		
	
	Further details are given in the accounts for these years (HC 940, HC 1009 and HC 82 respectively).

Rural Payments Agency

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the job description is of each member of the senior management team of the Rural Payments Agency; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: The Chief Executive and other Directors make up the senior management team of the Rural Payments Agency (RPA). In addition to the functions of the Chief Executive as Chief Accounting Officer, there are currently five Directors who work to individual performance-related objectives supporting the Agency's key performance targets. These cover RPA's Operations, Information Systems, Business Development, Finance and Resources and the provision of Legal Services. Their aims and objectives are outlined in the RPA's Annual Report and Accounts, of which last year's copy is in the Library of the House.

Rural Payments Agency

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many staff there were within the Rural Payments Agency in each year since 2001, broken down by grade.

Barry Gardiner: The following table shows the average number of staff by grade employed by the Rural Payments Agency in each year commencing 1 April.
	
		
			 Average number of staff in RPA since 2001 
			 Grade 2001-02(1) 2001-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 
			 SCB 8 10 10 12 11 
			 Grade 6 10 13 12 10 9 
			 Grade 7 45 52 50 47 46 
			 SFO 2 2 2 1 1 
			 SEO 91 109 103 113 102 
			 HEO 178 270 260 250 218 
			 EO 463 796 780 768 658 
			 PS 12 15 14 11 5 
			 AO 622 1,477 1,765 1,854 1,824 
			 TYP 9 37 17 12 5 
			 SGB 1 7 13 18 22 18 
			 AA 86 392 577 589 323 
			 SGB 2 15 62 25 24 16 
			 Total 1,548 3,248 3,633 3,713 3,231 
			 (1) During this year the Intervention Board (IB) and key Regional Development Service (RDS) functions merged to form the Rural Payments Agency.  Note:  Information has been supplied in Financial Years.

Single Farm Payments

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions she has had with the Rural Payments Agency on the efficiency and accuracy of its computer systems; and whether the Agency has allocated the correct payments for each farm.

Barry Gardiner: My right hon. Friend the former Secretary of State and my noble Friend Lord Bach, had regular meetings with the acting chief executive of the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) at which a range of issues surrounding the performance of the Agency are discussed. By the end of Wednesday 26 April, 52,922 claims (44.10 per cent.) had been paid under the single payment scheme. The RPA will consider any representations made by farmers about the accuracy of those or other payments made by the Agency and take corrective action where appropriate.

Single Farm Payments

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many eligible farmers in Beverley and Holderness are awaiting payment of outstanding single farm monies due to them; what percentage of eligible farmers had received their full entitlement to the single farm payment as at 31 March 2006; and if he will make a statement.

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many farmers in Devon received payments under the Single Payment Scheme by 28 March; and how many are still to receive it.

David Tredinnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress has been made with payments to farmers in the East Midlands under the Single Payment Scheme.

Barry Gardiner: 120,367 applications were received for the Single Payment Scheme (SPS). By the end of 26 April, 52,922 claims (44.10 per cent.) had been paid.
	The Rural Payments Agency does not have data available on a regional basis, as the scheme is not administered in this way.

Single Farm Payments

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the 2006 single farm payment application form was passed to the Plain English Campaign for editing before its despatch to farmers.

Barry Gardiner: The 2006 version of the single payment scheme handbook and (guidance for England was not submitted to the Plain English Campaign for editing; however it was edited by the Central Office of Information. The application form was not.

Single Farm Payments

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many single farm payments awards in (a) Beverley and Holderness and (b) England have been terminated following the return of (i) an incomplete and (ii) a late application; and if he will make a statement.

Barry Gardiner: 1,171 applications to the Single Payment Scheme 2005, were rejected due to (a) an incomplete application or (b) was received after the final deadline of 10 June 2005.
	The Single Payment Scheme is not administered on a regional basis; therefore the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) does not hold information specific to the Beverley and Holdnerness constituency.

Telephone Advice Lines

Andrew Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many telephone advice lines his Department and its non-departmental public bodies support; how many telephone advisers each employs; and how much funding is provided to each by (a) his Department and its non-departmental public bodies, (b) other Government departments, (c) the private sector and (d) the voluntary sector.

Barry Gardiner: Defra and its non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) currently provide 33 telephone advice lines. No funding is provided by other Government Departments, the private sector or the voluntary sector. The number of telephone advisers employed varies according to the level of business demand. It is not possible to ascertain the amount of funding Defra and its NDPBs provide without disproportionate cost.

Aircraft Noise

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the commitment in the White Paper The Future of Aviation to bear down on aircraft noise, what target decibel level his Department has set for aircraft noise.

Gillian Merron: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my hon. Friend the Member for Halton (Derek Twigg) on 8 May 2006, Official Report, column 15W about the steps we are taking to bear down on aircraft noise.

Bus Journeys (Doncaster, North)

Edward Miliband: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many passenger bus journeys were taken by residents of Doncaster North in (a) 1984, (b) 1994 and (c) 2004.

Gillian Merron: The information requested is not available for Doncaster North. The number of passenger bus journeys per person per year in Yorkshire and Humberside are listed in the following table for (a)1985-06, (b)1994 and (c) 2004.
	
		
			 Average number of passenger bus journeys per person per year for Yorkshire and Humberside 
			 1985-06 139 
			 1994 88 
			 2004 67

Buses

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the total public spending (a) per head of the population and (b) per passenger was on bus services (i) including and (ii) excluding funding for concessionary travel in (A) London, (B) each of the English Passenger Transport Executive areas and (C) the rest of England in each of the last 10 years.

Gillian Merron: holding answer 8 May 2006
	The information requested is shown in the following tables (figures are not available for 1995-96).
	
		
			 Total spending on bus services including concessionary fare funding 
			 £ per head of population 
			 Area 1996-97 1997-98 1998-99 1999-2000 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 
			 Greater Manchester 23 22 23 24 25 24 24 31 28 
			 Merseyside 38 41 43 32 33 34 36 38 42 
			 South Yorkshire 21 20 14 13 14 15 15 16 18 
			 Tyne and Wear 26 25 25 28 28 28 30 25 25 
			 West Midlands 30 30 31 34 34 36 32 29 28 
			 West Yorkshire 19 19 20 19 21 22 20 21 19 
			 London 17 16 18 18 28 43 74 94 93 
			 Rest of England 6 6 7 7 8 8 9 10 11 
		
	
	
		
			 Total spending on bus services excluding concessionary fare funding 
			 £ per head of population 
			 Area 1996-97 1997-98 1998-99 1999-2000 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 
			 Greater Manchester 8 8 8 8 9 8 8 14 11 
			 Merseyside 15 18 18 8 9 10 10 12 15 
			 South Yorkshire 9 10 5 6 6 7 8 8 9 
			 Tyne and Wear 8 8 9 9 10 10 11 8 6 
			 West Midlands 9 8 10 11 10 12 10 6 6 
			 West Yorkshire 10 10 10 11 12 12 12 13 10 
			 London 2 0 2 1 12 25 57 76 73 
			 Rest of England 3 3 4 4 4 5 5 6 7 
		
	
	
		
			 Total spending on bus services including concessionary fare funding 
			 Pence per passenger journey 
			 Area 1996-97 1997-98 1998-99 1999-2000 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 
			 Greater Manchester 27 27 27 30 31 29 30 38 35 
			 Merseyside 33 38 40 29 32 33 34 37 40 
			 South Yorkshire 18 18 13 13 13 15 15 17 20 
			 Tyne and Wear 18 17 18 20 21 21 23 20 21 
			 West Midlands 22 21 23 25 25 26 24 23 23 
			 West Yorkshire 19 20 22 20 23 25 23 25 23 
			 London 10 9 10 10 15 22 36 41 39 
			 Rest of England 15 15 17 18 20 22 24 27 30 
		
	
	
		
			 Total spending on bus services excluding concessionary fare funding 
			 Pence per passenger journey 
			 Area 1996-97 1997-98 1998-99 1999-2000 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 
			 Greater Manchester 10 9 9 10 12 10 10 17 14 
			 Merseyside 13 17 17 8 8 9 10 12 14 
			 South Yorkshire 8 9 5 6 6 7 8 9 11 
			 Tyne and Wear 5 6 6 7 7 8 9 7 5 
			 West Midlands 7 5 8 8 7 9 7 5 4 
			 West Yorkshire 10 10 11 12 13 14 14 15 12 
			 London 1 0 1 1 6 13 28 33 31 
			 Rest of England 7 7 9 10 11 12 14 16 18 
		
	
	In addition, operators of local bus services receive Bus Service Operators Grant from this Department. This is paid direct to operators and is not attributed to a specific area.

Departmental Policies

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will set out with statistical evidence relating as closely as possible to West Lancashire constituency the effects in West Lancashire of changes to his Department's policies since 1997.

Derek Twigg: Capital funding for local transport in the West Lancashire constituency is allocated to the Lancashire county council. The funding provided to Lancashire county council since 1997 is shown in the following table. It is for Lancashire county council to determine how that allocation is spent, in line with the priorities detailed in their local transport plan.
	
		
			 Lancashire county council level of funding 
			 £000 
			  Maintenance Integrated block Major funding Targeted bus grants(1) Total funding 
			 1997-98 — — — — 11,006 
			 1998-99 — — — 751 7,906 
			 1999-2000 — — — 751 10,432 
			 2000-01 6,096 4,800 600 751 12,283 
			 2001-02 16,630 11,200 — 960 28,790 
			 2002-03 17,782 11,922 1,026 1,098 31,828 
			 2003-04 13,337 12,051 — 1,121 26,509 
			 2004-05 16,176 13,033 — 1,238 30,447 
			 2005-06 14,865 11,000 — 1,287 27,152 
			 (1)Includes Rural Bus Subsidy Grant and Rural Bus challenge funding 
		
	
	The Government are also investing £87 billion per week nationally to improve the railways, which will benefit those in West Lancashire. TransPennine Express, who operate services in West Lancashire, have invested £250 million in a fleet of 51 new trains. Passengers are already travelling on these trains and the full fleet is expected to be operating by the end of January 2007.
	More locally, the West of Lancashire community rail partnership, which was established in 2000, has already been involved with the recent refurbishment of Parbold railway station, the development of a new interchange at Burscough Bridge and the introduction of a new Sunday service at Gathurst station and later evening service from Manchester to Southport.
	The public performance measure for Northern Rail (2004-05), which covers punctuality and reliability, shows that 85 per cent. of trains arrived within 5 minutes of their designated time, against a national average of 84 per cent. These figures show an improvement in Northern Rail's performance since 2003-04.

Level Crossings

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many level crossings there are in each parliamentary constituency in England and Wales.

Derek Twigg: Information on the number of level crossings is recorded by Network Rail zone not by parliamentary constituency. Data on the number of crossings in each zone is contained in the Health and Safety Executive's Railway Safety annual report for 2004, copies of which are in the Libraries of the House.

MOT Computer System

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many days the MOT computer system has worked without a technical problem occurring since its formal live date.

Stephen Ladyman: MOT computerisation system was rolled out between 18 April 2005 and 29 March 2006. The supported service is available to garages between the hours of 6am to 10pm daily, 365 days of the year. Technical problems that have occurred have never impacted all garages and, save one recent incident, have not lasted a complete day. Supported service availability to the end of April 2006, is 99.37 per cent. (accuracy measured on a minute basis). Over the same period, the number of days without any technical problem occurring is 350 days (93 per cent.).

Petrol Sales

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent estimate he has made of how many litres of petrol are purchased in a year for use in (a) road haulage, (b) private cars and (c) city buses.

Stephen Ladyman: Consumption of road fuel by weight is published by the Department in 'Transport Statistics Great Britain' (see TGSB 2005, Table 3.1 Petroleum Consumption: by transport mode and fuel type). Figures can be converted from tonnes to litres by dividing the weight of the fuel by the density of the fuel (0.000736 tonnes per litre for petrol and 0.000832 tonnes per litre for diesel). No petrol (motor spirit) is consumed by buses or heavy goods vehicles as these vehicles have diesel engines. A copy of the TGSB 2005 is available in the House Library.

Railways

Linda Gilroy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the passenger growth on the (a) Plymouth to Bristol, (b) Plymouth to Birmingham, (c) Plymouth to London and (d) Exeter to Waterloo railway lines was in each year between 1994 and 2005.

Derek Twigg: Information for years prior to 2002 is not available in the form requested. The figures for years from 2002 onwards are as follows:
	
		
			 Year(1) Percentage passenger growth 
			 (a) Plymouth to Bristol  
			 2002-03 15 
			 2003-04 8 
			 2004-05 -6 
			 2005-06 7 
			   
			 (b) Plymouth to Birmingham  
			 2002-03 -7 
			 2003-04 -6 
			 2004-05 -12 
			 2005-06 1.3 
			   
			 (c) Plymouth to London  
			 2002-03 12 
			 2003-04 7 
			 2004-05 -4 
			 2005-06 3 
			   
			 (d) Exeter to Waterloo  
			 2002-03 -2 
			 2003-04 -7 
			 2004-05 4 
			 2005-06 -9 
			 (1)Rail reporting year which is April to March

Railways

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  how many (a) members of departmental staff and (b) external consultants were employed to research and write the North East regional planning assessment for the railway;
	(2)  what the total cost was of (a) preparing and (b) producing the North East regional planning assessment.

Derek Twigg: The preparation and writing of the draft North East regional planning assessment (RPA) was carried out by a single consultancy firm procured by the Strategic Rail Authority at a fee cost of 224,997 (including VAT). Data for the exact number of consultants employed is not available.
	A number of SRA, and subsequently Department for Transport (DfT) staff supported the development and production of the published RPA, but were not solely dedicated to this task. SRA and DfT staff costs for the RPA work alone are therefore not available. However, it is estimated that around 15 per cent. of a full-time DfT post (plus formerly 25 per cent. of a full-time SRA post) was spent supporting this work, with additional administrative support.
	The total cost to date of publication of the RPA by the Departmentis 6,903 (including VAT).

Road Accidents

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many vehicle accidents occurred on A roads in (a) Hampshire and (b) England in each year since 1990; and how many (i) fatalities and (ii) serious injuries there were as a result in each year.

Stephen Ladyman: The number of personal injury road accidents reported to the police on A roads in (a) Hampshire (excluding the unitary authorities of Southampton, Portsmouth and Isle of Wight) and (b) England and the resulting fatalities and serious injuries in each year from 1990 to 2004 (the latest year for which figures are available) are given in the table.
	
		
			 Accidents, fatalities and serious injuries in Hampshire (excluding unitary authorities) and England on A roads: 1990 to 2004 
			  Accidents Fatalities Serious injuries 
			  Hampshire England Hampshire England Hampshire England 
			 1990 2,042 106,660 72 2,587 559 24,864 
			 1991 1,827 96,701 39 2,253 473 21,100 
			 1992 1,759 96,285 41 2,029 470 20,090 
			 1993 1,764 95,727 44 1,900 427 18,591 
			 1994 1,846 97,824 39 1,851 398 18,905 
			 1995 1,778 95,693 34 1,701 472 18,645 
			 1996 1,809 97,575 34 1,715 397 18,597 
			 1997 1,823 99,328 28 1,726 386 17,950 
			 1998 1,687 98,150 37 1,592 330 17,148 
			 1999 1,735 96,691 31 1,667 330 16,235 
			 2000 1,718 96,748 35 1,670 348 15,895 
			 2001 1,644 95,051 23 1,676 271 15,494 
			 2002 1,594 91,773 47 1,722 341 15,016 
			 2003 1,580 87,818 53 1,694 318 13,895 
			 2004 1,350 83,861 25 1,513 232 12,648

Road Accidents

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many vehicle accidents have occurred on motorways in each year since 1990; and how many (a) fatalities and (b) serious injuries occurred as a result in each year.

Stephen Ladyman: The number of personal injury road accidents reported to the police on motorways in Great Britain and resulting fatalities and serious injuries in each year from 1990 to 2004 (the latest year for which figures are available) are given in the table.
	This information has been published in annual publication series Road Casualties Great Britain, which are available in the Libraries of the House.
	
		
			 Accidents, fatalities and serious injuries on motorways, GB: 1990 to 2004 
			  Total number of personal injury accidents on motorways Fatalities Injuries 
			 1990 6,687 229 1,643 
			 1991 6,289 234 1,394 
			 1992 6,630 238 1,338 
			 1993 6,863 201 1,338 
			 1994 7,225 157 1,358 
			 1995 7,392 180 1,333 
			 1996 7,787 165 1,298 
			 1997 8,678 191 1,422 
			 1998 8,861 174 1,301 
			 1999 9,118 202 1,385 
			 2000 9,394 189 1,401 
			 2001 9,128 203 1,404 
			 2002 8,942 224 1,283 
			 2003 8,746 217 1,234 
			 2004 9,072 164 1,137

Developed Countries (UK Trade)

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the UK's international trade with developed countries.

Ian McCartney: holding answer 8 May 2006
	The Government's approach to international trade is set out in the 2004 Trade and Investment White Paper: Making globalisation a force for the good. We are committed to a global trading system that is fair as well as free. The UK's trade (imports and exports) in goods and services with OECD countries totals around 490 billion.

Energy Imports

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the cost of UK energy imports of (a) gas, (b) oil and (c) electricity was in each of the last five years.

Malcolm Wicks: Energy value balances produced by the DTI show the following values for imported gas, oil, and electricity. Further information on the methodology used to produce the value balances is contained in Chapter 1 of the Digest of UK Energy Statistics, copies of which are available in the House Library or on the DTI website at:
	http://www.dti.gov.uk/files/filel9257.pdf.
	
		
			  million 
			 Commodity 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005(1) 
			 Gas 185 260 135 670 1,740 
			 Crude oil 6,235 6,425 6,495 8,615 11,565 
			 Electricity 180 190 170 345 440 
			 (1 )Data for 2005 are provisional

EU Manufacturing

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the extent to which export subsidies are given by EU member state governments to support their domestic manufacturing industry.

Ian McCartney: Direct export subsidies are illegal under the state aid rules which apply under the treaty of Rome. These rules are enforced by the European Commission and reports on the action it takes against member states who breach them are published on its website at:
	http://europa.eu.int/coinm/competition/state_aid/scoreboard/

EU Manufacturing

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the Government plans to challenge export subsidies given to manufacturers by other EU member state governments; and if he will make a statement.

Ian McCartney: Direct export subsidies are always illegal. Only the European Commission can take action against illegal subsidies. If the Government had any evidence of such subsidies we would bring this to the attention of the Commission at once. It also open to any UK company in possession of such evidence to complain direct to the Commission.
	Guidance on how to complain to the Commission can be found at http://europa.eu.int/comm/secretariat_general/sgb/droit_com/index_en.htm#aides

Italian Subsidies

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what information he has received on subsidies available in Italy.

Ian McCartney: The Department's main source of information on state aid granted in all member states including Italy is the European Commission's twice yearly scoreboard for global information on state aid granted in other member states.
	http:/Veuropa.eu.int/coinni/competition/state_aid/scoreboaiW2005/autuinn_en.pdf
	Information on aid schemes and individual aids in all member states which have been notified to and approved by the European Commission can also be found on the Commission's website:
	http://europa.eu.int/conini/competition/stateaid/register/

Statutory Instruments

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the operation of Statutory Instrument number (a) 2001/2673, (b) 2001/2660, (c) 2001/4010, (d) 2002/3128, (e) 2003/3319 and (f) 2003/1656.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Government are proud of its record on employment regulation. This has given the UK a skilled and flexible workforce. We have given people decent rights at work without jeopardising their prospects for employment. Both employers and employees have rights and responsibilities towards each other and we strive to find the right balance and consult closely on all our regulations.
	The Regulations behind the above statutory instruments are as follows:
	SI 2001/2673
	The Regulations behind Statutory Instrument 2001/2673 amended the National Minimum Wage Regulations 1999 and came into force on 1 October 2001. They increased the adult minimum wage rate from 3.70 to 4.10 an hour and the rate for workers aged 18-21 (inclusive) from 3.20 to 3.50 an hour. They also made a number of other amendments relating to the level of the accommodation offset and workers taking part in accredited training. Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs is responsible for enforcing compliance with the national minimum wage legislation.
	SI 2001/2660
	SI 2001/2660 introduced two technical changes to the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 to implement the Burden of Proof Directive97/80/ECthe aim of which was to ensure that victims of sex discrimination are provided with effective access to justice, and in doing so promote equal treatment. This Directive applied to the employment field only. These regulations are enforceable through the Employment Tribunal system.
	SI 2001/4010
	SI 2001/4010 extended parental leave entitlement for parents of disabled children under 18 from 13 weeks' parental leave to 18 weeks' leave which can be taken up to their child's 18(th) birthday. SI 2001/4010 also extended the right to parental leave to parents of children under 5 on 15 December 1999. These parents were able to take their parental leave until 31 March 2001. SI 1999/3312, which SI 2001/4010 amended, is enforceable through the employment tribunals system.
	SI 2002/3128
	SI 2002/3128 introduced measures to protect young workers and provide fair minimum standards which ensure that young people are protected from excess working time leading to fatigue, risks to health and safety and possible damage to their education. These Regulations are enforceable and I have not been made aware of any difficulties with their operation.
	SI 2003/3319
	The Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003 (Statutory Instruments 2003/3319) govern the private recruitment industry in the UK and seek to protect those using the job-finding services provided by employment agencies. It is enforced by the DTIs Employment Agency Standards (EAS) Inspectorate. The Inspectorate can prosecute an agency found to be in breach of the legislation and can also apply for a Prohibition Order preventing an individual from operating as an agency or employment business for up to 10 years. The EAS has a helpline; the number is 0845 955 5105.
	SI 2003/1656
	SI 2003/1656 amended the Equal Pay Act 1970 in three respects to reflect requirements of European Community law, specifically Article 141 of the Treaty of Rome (equal pay), as applied in a number of recent cases before the European Court of Justice and the domestic courts. It extended the previous two-year limit on the period over which an employment tribunal could award back pay in successful equal pay cases, extended the six-month time limit within which a woman must bring an equal pay claim before an employment tribunal in specific, limited cases, and introduced a new rule that enables equal pay claims to be brought during the period of a stable employment relationship or within six months of it ending. These Regulations are enforceable through the Employment Tribunal system.

Planning Gain Supplement

Neil Turner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on progress in implementing the planning gain supplement.

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects to bring forward proposals on the planning gain supplement.

John Healey: As set out in the 2006 Economic and Fiscal Strategy Report, the Government will make further announcements on PGS' implementation by the end of the year.
	The Government received approximately 800 responses to their consultation on PGS and are considering views carefully and continuing to engage with stakeholders.

Economic Growth

David Borrow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on economic growth in the first quarter of 2006.

Edward Balls: On the basis of latest estimate, UK GDP grew by 0.6 per cent. in the first quarter of 2006 and stood 2.25 per cent. higher than in the first quarter of 2005, fully consistent with the Budget forecast. This represents the 55th consecutive quarter of uninterrupted economic growth, maintaining the longest expansion on record and clear testament of the success of this Government's macroeconomic policies.

Inflation

John Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the level of inflation is in the UK, the EU and the USA; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: At present, the rate of CPI inflation in the UK is 1.8 per cent.; close to target despite recent rises in oil prices. This is below the current rate of CPI inflation in the United States, of 3.4 per cent., and below the rate of more than 2 per cent. in both the euro area and the EU as a whole.

Working Tax Credit

Mary Creagh: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people claimed working tax credit in (a) Wakefield and (b) West Yorkshire in the latest year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: In April 2006, there were 33,000 in-work families with child or working tax credit awards in the local authority of Wakefield, and 9.3 thousand in the constituency of Wakefield. There were 204.5 thousand in-work families with child or working tax credit awards in the metropolitan county of West Yorkshire.

Cancer

David Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the death rate for cancer was in (a) males and(b) females under 75 years of age in each year since 1976.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the national statistician who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 11 May 2006
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking what the death rate for cancer was in (a) males and (b) females under 75 years of age in each year since 1976. (68832)
	The most recent year for which figures are available is 2004. The attached table shows the age-standardised death rate from cancer, for males and females aged under 75 years in England and Wales for the years 1976 to 2004. Although coding changes within this period mean that figures are not completely comparable between 1976 and 2004, nevertheless a strong overall downward trend can be seen in cancer mortality across these years.
	
		
			 Death rates(1) from cancer(2), for males and females aged under 75(3), England and Wales, 1976 to 2004(4) 
			 Deaths per 100,000 population 
			  Males Females 
			 1976 200.9 137.1 
			 1977 196.8 135.6 
			 1978 197.6 136.4 
			 1979 195.8 137.5 
			 1980 193.6 137.6 
			 1981 190.9 137.5 
			 1982 188.1 137.8 
			 1983 191.2 137.7 
			 1984 192.2 141.3 
			 1985 188.6 140.8 
			 1986 185.6 139.5 
			 1987 183.8 139.9 
			 1988 185.4 140.2 
			 1989 182.4 139.1 
			 1990 179.9 136.8 
			 1991 178.2 135.3 
			 1992 176.3 133.7 
			 1993 170.8 131.2 
			 1994 167.6 128.8 
			 1995 164.1 126.9 
			 1996 160.3 123.7 
			 1997 154.2 121.3 
			 1998 153.8 119.3 
			 1999 148.0 116.8 
			 2000 143.6 114.7 
			 2001 141.7 113.0 
			 2002 140.7 111.4 
			 2003 136.9 108.5 
			 2004 133.0 107.3 
			 (1) Rate per 100,000 population standardised to the European Standard Population.  (2) Selected using the International Classification of Diseases, Eighth Revision (ICD-8) codes 140-207 for the years 1976 to 1978, Ninth Revision (1CD-9) codes 140-208 for the years 1979 to 2000, and Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes C00-C97 for 2001 onwards. Between 1984 and 1992 a different interpretation ofICD-9 selection rule 3 was used to code underlying cause of death in England and Wales to that used internationally. This change means that comparisons between this period and years before and after, should be interpreted with caution. The impact of the change on mortality statistics was analysed and reported in annual mortality publications in 1984 and 1994*. The introduction of ICD-10 for coding cause of death in 2001 also means that figures are not completely comparable with data for years before this date. Comparisons between the data before and after 2001 should therefore also be interpreted with caution. An article specifically examining the effect of the change in classification for cancer trends was published in Health Statistics Quarterly 23**. More information about these changes, as well as the results of the study, can be found on the National Statistics website at www. statistics.gov.uk/icd10mortality  (3) Aged 0 to 74 years, excluding babies aged under 28 days from 1986 onwards.  (4) Figures are for registrations of death in each calendar year from 1976 to 1992 and for occurrences of death in each calendar year from 1993 onwards. * Mortality statistics: Cause 1984. DH2 No. 11, pg viii-ix. Mortality statistics: Cause 1993 (revised) and 1994. DH2 No. 21, pg xxv-xxxiii. ** Brock A, Griffiths C, Rooney C (2004) The effect of the introduction of ICD-10 on cancer mortality trends in England and Wales. Health Statistics Quarterly 23, 7-17.

Census Records

Mike Hancock: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many communications have been received by (a) his Department and (b) the Office for National Statistics from hon. Members since 1 January 2005 on the failure of the Registrar General to transfer decennial census records for England and Wales to the National Archives not later than 30 years after their creation in accordance with the Public Records Act 1958 s.3(4).

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 11 May 2006
	As National Statistician and Registrar General I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many communications have been received by (a) the Treasury and (b) the Office for National Statistics from hon. Members since 1st January 2005, on the failure of the Registrar General to transfer decennial census records for England and Wales to the National Archives not later than 30 years after their creation in accordance with the Public Records Act 1958 s.3(4). 66496
	There has been just one communication in total from Members of Parliament since 1 January 2005 concerning the transfer of census records but this related to the 1981 and 1991 Censuses which are, of course, not yet 30 years old.
	I should clarify that in accordance with Section 3(4) of the Public Records Act I have obtained approval for retention of decennial census records which are over 30 years old. Lord Chancellor's Retention Instrument number 81 approves retention of the 1921 and 1951 censuses and the Lord Chancellor's Retention Instrument number 63 approves retention of the 1961 and 1971 censuses. There are no surviving decennial population census records for 1931 and no census was taken in 1941.

Charges (Bank/Credit Card)

Anne Snelgrove: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will take steps to limit punitive charges that can be levied when (a) a bank account goes overdrawn and (b) a credit card limit is breached.

Edward Balls: The Office of Fair Trading has been investigating the question of credit card default charges. In April they produced a statement of the principles they think card issuers should follow in setting default charges in their standard contracts with consumers in order to meet the test of fairness set out in the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999.
	The OFT has made it clear that they expect all credit card issuers to recalculate their default charges in line with the principles set out in the statement and to take action where needed to reduce the level of credit card default fees. The OFT also noted that the principles also apply to default charges in other consumer contracts such as those for bank overdrafts, store cards and mortgages.

Doncaster, North (Statistics)

Edward Miliband: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people resident in Doncaster, North were employed in transport services in (a) 1984, (b) 1994 and (c) 2004.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 11 May 2006
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about employment in the transport service. (68407)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles statistics of employment for local areas from the annual local area Labour Force Survey (LFS) and the Annual Population Survey (APS) following International Labour Organisation definitions.
	It is estimated that 1,000 people, resident in the Doncaster North Parliamentary Constituency, were employed in transport services (1992 Standard Industrial Classification classes 60 - land transport, 61 - water transport and 62 - air transport) for the 12 months ending December 2004 from the APS. LFS industry class data for parliamentary constituencies are only available from the 12 month period ending February 1999.
	The estimate, as with any from sample surveys, is subject to a margin of uncertainty.

Economic Inactivity

Jim Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the rates of economic inactivity were for people of working age in each (a) region, (b) country in the UK and (c) parliamentary constituency in Tyne and Wear in each year from 1995 to 2005.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 11 May 2006
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your parliamentary question about economic inactivity. (69578)
	The Office for National Statistics compiles statistics of economic inactivity for local areas from the annual population survey following international labour organisation definitions.
	Table 1, attached shows the economic inactivity rates for persons of working age (males aged 16 to 64 and females aged 16 to 59) for each region and country of the UK for the 12 month period ending December 2004. Table 2, attached, shows the equivalent rates for each parliamentary constituency in Tyne and Wear
	These estimates, as with any from sample surveys, are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
	
		
			 Table 1: Working age economic inactivity rates for each region and country of the UK; January 2004 to December 2004. 
			  Percentage 
			 Region and country Economic inactivity rates for persons of working age 
			 North East 25.6 
			 North West 23.8 
			 Yorkshire and The Humber 22.5 
			 East Midlands 21.2 
			 West Midlands 22.5 
			 Eastern 18.3 
			 London 25.5 
			 South East 18.0 
			 South West 19.4 
			 England 21.7 
			 Wales 25.1 
			 Scotland 21.0 
			 Northern Ireland 28.5 
			 United Kingdom 22.0 
			 Note: Estimates are subject to sampling variability.Source:Annual population survey. Working age is males aged 16 to 64 and females aged 16 to 59.. 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Working age economic inactivity rates for each Parliamentary Constituency in Tyne and Wear; January 2004 to December 2004 
			  Percentage 
			 Parliamentary constituency Economic inactivity rates for persons of working age 
			 Blaydon 22.6 
			 Gateshead East  Washington West 18.9 
			 Houghton  Washington East 24.5 
			 Jarrow 26.8 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne Central 30.9 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne East  Wallsend 26.5 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne North 21.8 
			 North Tyneside 19.0 
			 South Shields 30.0 
			 Sunderland North 30.9 
			 Sunderland South 30.0 
			 Tyne Bridge 32.3 
			 Tynemouth 23.5 
			 Note:  Estimates are subject to sampling variability  Source:  Annual Population Survey. Working age is males aged 16 to 64 and females aged 16 to 59.

Energy Efficiency (Scotland)

Michael Weir: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what proportion of the funding he announced in the Budget for local authorities and energy companies to work together for energy efficiency will be allocated to Scotland;
	(2)  whether the additional funds announced in his budget to help local authorities and others to work in partnership with energy companies to promote and incentivise energy efficiency measures for households apply to Scotland;
	(3)  what discussions he has had with the Scottish Executive on the allocation of funds from the additional 20 million announced in his budget for energy efficiency measures.

Stephen Timms: The Scottish Executive received additional funding totalling 87 million as a consequence of additional funding for Government Departments in the March 2006 Budget. The allocation of these funds to specific services is a matter for the Scottish Executive.
	Treasury Ministers and Scottish Ministers are in regular contact on matters of common interest.

Infant Mortality

Tim Loughton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the 10 areas with the (a) highest and (b) lowest rates of infant mortality; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 11 May 2006
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning the 10 areas with the (a) highest and (b) lowest rates of infant mortality. (69334)
	The attached table gives infant mortality rates for the aggregate period 2002-2004, for the 10 primary care organisation (PCO) areas in England with the highest rates of infant mortality and the 10 PCO areas with the lowest rates of infant mortality.
	
		
			 Infant mortality rates(1) for the 10 primary care organisation (PCO) areas(2) in England with the highest rates of infant mortality and the 10 PCO areas with the lowest rates of infant mortality, 2002-04 
			 10 PCO areas with the highest infant mortality rates (IMR) IMR Number of infant deaths 
			 Heart of Birmingham Teaching 12.4 218 
			 North Kirklees 11.1 85 
			 Bradford City Teaching 10.4 94 
			 South Stoke 9.9 45 
			 Eastern Birmingham 9.1 89 
			 North Bradford 9.0 29 
			 Doncaster Central 8.8 23 
			 North Stoke 8.8 41 
			 Central Manchester 8.6 62 
			 Preston 8.5 45 
			
			 10 PCO areas with the lowest infant mortality rates (IMR)   
			 Central Suffolk 1.4 4 
			 East Elmbridge and Mid Surrey 1.5 13 
			 East Devon 1.8 5 
			 North East Oxfordshire 2.1 6 
			 Teignbridge 2.1 6 
			 Chiltern and South Bucks 2.2 11 
			 South Somerset 2.2 10 
			 Mid-Hampshire 2.4 13 
			 Royston, Buntingford and Bishop's Stortford 2.4 6 
			 Hertsmere 2.4 8 
			 (1) Deaths at ages under one year per 1000 live births.  (2) For comparability, PCO boundaries at November 2005 are used for all years.  (3) Where rates are calculated from fewer than 20 deaths, the reliability of the measure may be affected by the small number of events

Pregnancy Rates

Iris Robinson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the pregnancies rates for (a) 15 to 16 and (b) 13 to 14 year olds were in the last period for which figures are available.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 11 May 2006
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking what the pregnancy rates for (a) 15 to 16 and (b) 13 to 14 year olds were in the last period for which figures are available. (69661)
	The most recent year for which conception statistics are available is 2004 and figures for this year are provisional.
	Number of conceptions to girls aged under 14 by single year of age are not published by ONS to protect the confidentiality of individual's information due to small number of events at younger ages. It is therefore not possible to provide conception rate for girls aged 13-14; we can instead provide information for all aged under 14 combined.
	Conception figures for women aged under 14, 14 and 15 to 16 for England and Wales are given in the following table.
	
		
			 Conceptions at ages under 14, 14 and 15-16, England and Wales, 2004 
			 Age Number Rate(1) 
			 Under 14 341 1.0 
			 14 1,751 5.2 
			 15-16 19,137 28.3 
			 (1) Rates for women aged under 14, 14 and 15-16 are based on the female population of women aged 13, 14 and 15-16 respectively.

Stamp Duty

James Gray: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what projections he has made for the revenue from stamp duty on (a) property and (b) share transactions in each of the next three financial years.

Edward Balls: Projected revenues for total stamp taxes in 2006-07 were
	published in Table C8 of the Budget 2006 report. The breakdown between stamp taxes on land and property and stamp taxes on shares is as follows:
	
		
			  billion 
			 Taxes 2006-07 
			 Stamp taxes on land and property transactions 8.1 
			 Stamp taxes on share transactions 4.0 
			 Total stamp taxes 12.2 
		
	
	Projections of total stamp taxes are only shown in the Budget 2006 report up to 2006-07 and this is therefore the last year for which forecast receipts are currently given in replies to parliamentary questions.

Tax Credits

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many additional staff have been brought in to the tax credit call centres to deal with the current annual declarations.

Dawn Primarolo: HMRC keep the demand and service levels of the Tax Credit Helpline under constant review and have the flexibility to adjust resource as and when needed.

Trade Statistics

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the UK's balance of trade was with (a) the USA, (b) China, (c) India, (d) Japan, (e) the remainder of South East Asia and (f) South America in each of the last eight years; and what assessment he has made of the trends over this period.

Edward Balls: The Office for National Statistics publishes trade in goods and services data by country in their annual Pink Book publication (http://www.statistics.gov.uk /StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=1140Pos=1ColRank=1 Rank=272). Trends in the UK's trade with the rest of the world vary significantly across regions. For example, the UK runs a substantial trade surplus with the United States, while it is currently running a trade deficit with the majority of South-East Asian and South American economies.
	These trends are likely to partly reflect broader global trends, with emerging economies accounting for an increasing share of global output, trade and investment. These changes have significant implications for the world's advanced economies, bringing with them new challenges and opportunities.

Unemployment

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the level of unemployment in the West Midlands in 2004-05.

Edward Balls: In 2004-05, claimant unemployment in the West Midlands reached a record low, and was 243 thousand lower than its peak in March 1986.
	Between May 1997 and March 2006, claimant unemployment in the West Midlands has fallen by 40 thousand (27.1 per cent.) and the rate is now 5.2 per cent.

Electoral Roll

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what was the size of the total electorate for the (a) Vale of Clwyd and (b) Denbighshire in each of the last 10 years;
	(2)  what the (a) size of the electorate and (b) registration rate was in each local authority in (i) England, (ii) Wales, (iii) Scotland and (iv) Northern Ireland in each of the last 10 years.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 11 May 2006
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions regarding (1) the size of the electorate and the registration rate in each local authority in (i) England, (ii) Wales, (iii) Scotland and (iv) Northern Ireland in each of the last 10 years; (2) the percentage of those eligible to vote who were registered to vote in each local authority in (a) England, (b) Wales, (c) Scotland and (d) Northern Ireland in each of the last 10 years and (3) the total electorate for (a) the Vale of Clwyd and (b) Denbighshire in each of the last 10 years. (68582, 64195 and 65905)
	Firstly, please allow me to explain why it has taken a little while to reply to your questions. I understand from the House of Commons Library that you are most interested in Parliamentary electorate by local authority. This is not a standard output so it has taken some time to collate the data and ensure it is on an equivalent basis. This is further complicated by different data being available for England  Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Electoral data are held locally by the General Register Office for Scotland (GROS), the Electoral Office Northern Ireland (EONI) and for England  Wales the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Regarding the question on total electorate for Denbighshire and the Vale of Clwyd, we do not normally publish data on total electorate (rather we publish local/European electorate and separately Parliamentary electorate data). For years up to and including 2001, data are not held electronically in a form that enables us to calculate 'total electorate'. Therefore, in order to obtain the data you requested we have referred to the annual paper returns from Denbighshire to collate the necessary data.
	Historical UK Electorate by LA
	Electoral data are available on the number of people registered to vote in Parliamentary elections and also on the number of people registered to vote in local/European elections. Annual population data are only available on a usual residence basis: the mid-year population estimates. Since population data are available by age, the mid-year population aged 18 and over can be calculated. Thus it is possible to calculate an estimate of the 'registration rate' using the percentage of the usually resident population, aged 18 and over who are registered to vote as either Parliamentary or local/European electors).
	It is not possible to 'split' estimates of the usual resident population in order to give estimates of the population entitled to vote. We do not hold data (e.g. populations of non-EU citizens) that enable us to produce such a 'split'.
	The attached tables (one for each year), therefore, provide information, for each local authority in the UK, on (i) the annual 'usual resident' mid-year population; (ii) the size of the (a) Parliamentary electorate and (b) local/European electorate; and (iii) the percentage of the estimated usually resident population aged 18 and over who are registered to vote as (a) Parliamentary electors and (b) local/European electors. These are labelled as 'registration rates' on the tables and this term is used in the remainder of this reply. These data provide the closest available approximation to the information you requested. It is not possible to calculate the percentage of the eligible population who are registered to vote: the resident population aged 18 and over is not the same as the number of people eligible to vote.
	This 'registration rate' is not a published National Statistic: there are a number of issues that mean care needs to be taken when interpreting the data. In particular care needs to be taken when considering local authorities where the usually resident population differs radically from the population eligible to vote. An example of such a local authority is Forest Heath. There are a large number of United States Air Force personnel, contractors, and dependants in Forest Heath who, as American citizens, are not eligible to vote. These people are however included in the population estimates as they are usually resident. Therefore, the estimated 'registration rate' calculated for Forest Heath is considerably reduced. However, the Office for National Statistics (ONS), in order to aid comparisons of the resident population of voting age and the number of people who are registered to vote, does calculate 'registration rates' on occasion in the manner outlined above.
	The attached tables give comparisons between the number of registered electors and annual mid-year population for the ten years up to mid-2004 (the latest available population estimates for the UK) for all local authorities in the UK. Each table shows a comparison against Parliamentary electorate (where available) and against local/European electorate. The availability of Parliamentary electorate by LA differs by country as this is a non-standard output. Data availability also differs from year to year. Recent improvements to the way the data are held for England and Wales mean these data can now be calculated for more recent years. For England and Wales data on Parliamentary electorate by LA, for years prior to 2002, could only be calculated by reference to individual paper LA annual returns and would involve disproportionate cost. For Scotland, 2004 data on Parliamentary electors by LA will be available shortly and we will provide you with an update of these tables when they become available. For Northern Ireland data on Parliamentary electors by LA are not currently available.
	In order to give an estimate of the number of electors at the mid-year point, 30 June, a weighted average is taken of the two closest sets of electoral data. This gives the best possible comparison with the population estimates. Footnotes to the tables indicate the formulae used to calculate these weighted comparisons.
	Attainers have been excluded from the electorate data to give the best possible comparison. Therefore, the data may differ to that published elsewhere.
	We have also updated the data where there are known (small) errors in or updates to previously published data. This means that the attached data provide the best possible comparison.
	The local/European electorate gives a better comparison than parliamentary electorate to the usually resident population as EU citizens are included and UK citizens resident abroad are excluded from the local/European electorate. However, a number of other difficulties remain when comparing these sources. For example not everyone who is usually resident is entitled to vote (foreign citizens from outside of the EU and Commonwealth, prisoners, etc. are not eligible) and people who have more than one address may register in more than one place (e.g. students may register at parental and term-time addresses). These factors may have a differential impact from place to place.
	There is also inevitably some double counting of the registered electorate (both parliamentary and local/European) as electoral registration officers vary in how quickly they remove people from the registers after they have moved away from an area or after they have died. This is the main reason some areas show apparent rates in excess of one hundred per cent.
	In order to aid comparison two further tables are attached that show the estimated 'registration rates' for all ten years. Table A shows these rates for Parliamentary electors and Table B for local/European electors. However, any comparison of these data across years should be made carefully as electoral legislation and other changes (such as EU expansion) can change the size of the electorate.
	A copy of the tables will be placed in the House of Commons Library.
	The tables provide as comprehensive as possible comparisons between historic local authority population and electorate numbers. I understand from the House of Commons Library that you are also interested in the percentage of residents who are registered to vote on a Parliamentary constituency basis. Official Report number 82 column 1719, 12 December 2005, provides the best possible consistent UK comparison for Parliamentary constituencies. For England and Wales we hope to investigate the possibility of producing population estimates by Parliamentary constituency in the future using Small Area Population Estimates. For Northern Ireland, population estimates by Parliamentary constituency are already available from the Northern Ireland Statistical and Research Agency (NISRA). You may also be interested in the Electoral Commission study Understanding electoral registration: http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/templates/search/document.cfm/13545.
	Total Electorate for Denbighshire and Vale of Clwyd
	The table below provides the requested 'total electorate' information for Denbighshire and the Vale of Clwyd, for the past 9 years. The total electorate figures shown here are those who are registered to vote as either Parliamentary electors, or local/European electors., or both.
	Data for 1996 are not readily available. The data are derived from data as reported by Denbighshire, and for years up to and including 2001, have been collated from the original paper returns.
	
		
			 Total electorate for Vale of Clwyd and Denbighshire 1997 to 2005 
			  Total electorate(1) 
			 Year(2) Vale of Clwyd Denbighshire 
			 1997 52,966 70,770 
			 1998 52,418 70,198 
			 1999 51,402 69,011 
			 2000 50,696 67,933 
			 2001 51,237 68,556 
			 2002 51,409 68,936 
			 2003 50,627 68,060 
			 2004 52,356 70,193 
			 2005 53,251 71,316 
			 (1) Total number registered to vote as parliamentary or local electors, combined.  (2) Data for years up to and including 2000 relate to 16 February, data for 2001 and subsequent years relate to 1 December.  Source:  Office for National Statistics

Angola

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much (a) direct and (b) bilateral aid his Department has allocated to Angola in 2006-07; how much he expects to be allocated in 2007-08; and if he will make a statement.

Hilary Benn: The DFID bilateral programme in Angola has commitments of 5 million for the financial year 2006-07. Expenditure is concentrated in the following areas:
	Relief and recovery. This includes support for bridge repairs that are necessary to allow humanitarian aid to reach affected areas of the country. Funding has also been provided for emergency operations to contain the outbreak of the Marburg virus in 2005.
	Strengthening democratisation. Our work here focuses on decentralisation and supporting civil-society contributions to the elections process. We also work with the World Bank to try and improve governance in the country and support the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative.
	Urban poverty in Luanda. This programme has created space for local communities to organise and better engage with local government on a range of issues, such as local water supply. The programme will end this year.
	HIV and AIDS. We are providing support for condom promotion, access to testing and behaviour change programmes, and are also providing anti-retrovirals.
	This year, Angola has also received approximately 1.3 million from the Africa Conflict Prevention Pool (ACCP). ACCP funds are agreed on a yearly basis. In addition, DFID continues to support de-mining operations in Angola. 1 million has been provided this year for de-mining in the country. A similar commitment is expected in 2007-08.
	Angola will also be involved in regional programmes that DFID in Southern Africa is currently developing. This regional programme is a 20 million per annum commitment, addressing regional peace and security, trade and growth, and resilient livelihoods concerns. As part of this regional commitment, we have recently approved an 18 million UNICEF programme to address children affected by AIDS. Around 3 million of this programme will be directed to Angola.
	All DFID bilateral resources are managed through third party civil society and UN organisations and not by the Government of Angola.
	Allocated bilateral expenditure from DFID is expected to be 3 million for 2007-08. Angola also benefits from DFID contributions to European Union and the World Bank operations in Angola. The EU has committed 146 million over the five year period from 2002-07. The World Bank's contribution this year is approximately US$30 million.

Animal Welfare

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will list his Department's (a) advisory bodies and (b) committees concerned with animal health and welfare; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: I refer the hon. Member to the response given by my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Mr. Bradshaw) on 9 May 2006, Official Report, column 127W.

Chad

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will urgently assess the food situation in Chad.

Hilary Benn: DFID staff continually monitor the humanitarian situation (including food needs) in Chad, and undertake periodic assessments in the east of the country. Of immediate concern, is the food situation of the estimated 50,000 Chadians who have been displaced as a result of attacks and violence in the border area with Darfur. The World Food Programme (WFP), along with other UN agencies and non governmental organisations (NGOs), are currently assessing needs and are launching programmes to assist these displaced and vulnerable people.
	Another critical issue at this time of year is the pre-positioning of food aid for the 205,000 Darfur refugees in Chad prior to the start of the rains. The WFP has indicated that, despite the deterioration of security in April, this process is on-track. The UK provided the WFP with 2 million for its operations in Chad last financial year, and we are considering providing further support.

Departmental Staff

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many people in his Department have been (a) disciplined and (b) dismissed for (i) inappropriate use of the internet while at work and (ii) using work telephones to access premium rate telephone numbers in each of the last five years.

Gareth Thomas: All DFID staff can access the internet while at work. Our policy on the Acceptable Use of IT is set out in our Security Manual, available on our intranet, and is drawn to the attention of staff on first appointment. Each time staff log on to our computer network, they are required to acknowledge that they have read and agree to comply with the Acceptable Use of IT policy. Our system also alerts staff when logging in that their activity on the system may be monitored. The policy provides clear guidance that misuse of official equipment will be a disciplinary offence, and, subject to the particular offence, could lead to dismissal. The policy applies to civil servants working in the UK and overseas, and to our locally appointed staff overseas, who work under local contacts.
	Although internet activity on all DFID computers is logged every day, analysis is only undertaken when suspicion of misuse is raised. All premium rate telephone numbers are barred from DFID office telephones except for mobile telephones. Itemised bills for DFID mobile telephones are checked by individual departments.
	DFID did not hold a central disciplinary record until October 2004. In the last five years, we have details of one disciplinary case which did not result in dismissal and three dismissals (one of whom was provided by an agency and dismissed by the agency) for inappropriate use of the internet while at work. The following table lists the cases by year.
	
		
			  Disciplined Dismissed 
			 2002 1 0 
			 2004 0 (1)2 
			 2005 0 1 
			 Total 1 3 
			 (1 )one locally appointed and one agency staff

Departmental Staff

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many (a) EU foreign nationals and (b) non-EU foreign nationals have been employed in his Department in each of the last five years; what vetting procedures are in place for each category of staff; and whether these include liaison with foreign law enforcement agencies.

Gareth Thomas: DFID collects information on Ethnic Origin and nationality for its home civil service (HSC) and equivalent staff in line with the categories defined in the 2001 Census and which were agreed with the Commission for Racial Equality. Provision of this information by staff is voluntary.
	Our records show that in the years 2001 to 2006, 115 HCS staff have declared their Ethnic Origin as Any other which is defined as other than British or Mixed British; English; Irish; Scottish or Welsh.
	The following table shows these results:
	
		
			 Ethnic nationality 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 Total 
			 Bangladeshi  1 1 
			 Indian  1 6 3   10 
			 Pakistani  1 23 
			 African 2 4  1 1  8 
			 Caribbean 2   1   3 
			 Asian and White  2 24 
			 Other Mixed Ethnic2 1  3 
			 White 18 15 16 16 8 2 75 
			 Any Other Ethnic background  1 4 1   6 
			 Unknown or Unspecified   1  1  2 
			 Total 22 25 31 24 11 2 115 
		
	
	As staff are not obliged to state the exact nationality which corresponds to that Ethnic Origin we cannot provide a breakdown between EU foreign nationals and non-EU foreign nationals.
	For our HCS and equivalent staff, DFID carries out a basic verification check of identity and eligibility to work in the UK for EU foreign nationals and non-EU foreign nationals, when candidates attend the selection process. Further vetting for selected candidates, which can include criminal record checks with foreign law enforcement agencies, is undertaken by our Security Section.
	In addition to HCS staff, DFID also employs Staff Appointed in Country (SAIC) in our overseas offices. We do not hold specific nationality information on these staff, but the vast majority are nationals of the country in which they are appointed, and, therefore non-EU foreign nationals. We do not hold a central record of annual appointments, but the total numbers of SAIC in post in each year since 2001, is as follows:
	
		
			  SAIC staff numbers 
			 2001 424 
			 2002 739 
			 2003 874 
			 2004 914 
			 2005 989 
			 2006 932 
		
	
	For Staff Appointed in Country, our Security Section carries out a basic check of identity, including references. The DFID overseas offices are required to confirm to Security Section that they have completed the relevant police checks for criminal records, where possible, with the local police authorities in the country of appointment.

Disabled Children (Developing Countries)

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will list the projects his Department is funding to ensure disabled children are given access to education in developing countries.

Gareth Thomas: All children, including those with disabilities or living in difficult circumstances, should have equal access to a good quality basic education. DFID is committed to working with the Governments of developing countries towards the education of all children, including those with disabilities.
	DFID's policy on social exclusion is laid out in its September 2005 policy paper entitled 'Reducing poverty by tackling social exclusion'. The paper sets out how DFID will build on the work that is already under way and some practical actions that DFID is taking to tackle social exclusion and make a real difference to the lives of excluded people.
	Also, DFID's strategy paper of last year, 'Girls' education: towards a better future for all' recognised that certain groups of girls are more likely to be excluded from school on the basis of caste, ethnicity, religion or disability and that disabled children, and among them disabled girls in particular, constitute a significant group that is denied access to education. The challenge is to support governments to provide quality education for excluded groups.
	It is not possible, without incurring a disproportionate cost, to identify a comprehensive list of projects supported by DFID which include supporting disabled children's right to education. DFID's approach is to support developing country governments' own education plans rather than directly manage discrete projects. In India, for example, DFID has supported through its country programme, the District Primary Education Programme, which promotes inclusive education, and some states have been successful in integrating disabled children into mainstream schools. In Vietnam, DFID has co-financed with the Government of Vietnam, the World Bank and other donors the Primary Education for Disadvantaged Children programme, a 243 million project which was launched in October 2003 and includes a strong focus on primary education for disabled children.
	DFID also provides funding through UK non-governmental organisations to support projects that benefit disabled people and advocate for disabled people's rights. DFID has partnership agreements with a number of organisations that support disability-focused activities, such as World Vision, HelpAge International, Save the Children and VSO, among others. In addition, through our partner Action on Disability and Development, with whom we have a six-year Programme Partnership Agreement, we work to promote greater participation and inclusion of disabled people and their organisations in decision-making processes, particularly on partner governments' Poverty Reduction Strategies.

Equal Pay

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many (a) women and (b) men are employed in the Department; what the average pay was for (i) women and (ii) men in the Department in (A) 1997 and (B) 2006; what women's average pay is as a percentage of men's average pay; and how many (1) women and (2) men the Department employed in each of the last five years, broken down by grade.

Gareth Thomas: The Cabinet Office collects and publishes annually statistical information on the civil service by Department. These include data on the employment of men and women.
	The number of permanent and pensionable home civil service (HCS) staff employed by DFID as at 1 May 2006 broken down by gender is: male: 949 and female: 898.
	The average (median) pay for HCS staff employed by DFID as at 1 May 2006 by gender are as follows:
	
		
			 1 May 2006 
			  Headcount  
			  Full-time staff Part-time staff Full-time equivalent 
			  Male Female Total Male Female Total Male Female Total 
			 Median 32,738 26,652 29,570 12,518 20,594 13,358 32,557 22,151 29,467 
			 Female median pay as percentage of male median pay 81.4 164.5 68.0 
			 Note:  A new payroll system introduced in 2004 holds data only from 2001 onwards equivalent figures for 1997 therefore can be obtained only at disproportionate cost. 
		
	
	The number of HCS staff employed by DFID broken down by gender and grade in each of the last five years are shown in the following tables:
	
		
			 1 April 2002 
			 All non-industrial staff 
			  Headcount
			  Full-time staff Part-time staff Full-time equivalent 
			 Responsibility level Male Female Total Male Female Total Male Female Total 
			 SCS 50 10 60 0 0 0 50 10 60 
			 Grades 6/7 268 136 404 1 3 4 268.9 138 406.9 
			 SEO/HEO 194 144 338 1 19 20 194.5 155.6 350.1 
			 EO 135 133 268 1 27 28 135.5 150.1 285.6 
			 AO/AA 154 235 389 2 42 44 155.1 258.8 413.9 
			 Unknown 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Total 801 658 1459 5 91 96 804 712.5 1516.5 
			   
			 All industrial staff 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			 1 April 2003 
			 All non-industrial staff 
			  Headcount
			  Full-time staff Part-time staff Full-time equivalent 
			 Responsibility level Male Female Total Male Female Total Male Female Total 
			 SCS 47 13 60 3 0 3 49.4 13 62.4 
			 Grades 6/7 310 157 467 2 11 13 311.4 165 476.4 
			 SEO/HEO 217 186 403 0 18 18 217 197.1 414.1 
			 EO 130 120 250 1 25 26 130.5 134.5 265 
			 AO/AA 140 216 356 2 43 45 141.3 240.9 382.2 
			 Unknown 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Total 844 692 1536 8 97 105 849.6 750.5 1600.1 
			   
			 All industrial staff 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			 1 April 2004 
			 All non-industrial staff 
			  Headcount
			  Full-time staff Part-time staff Full-time equivalent 
			 Responsibility level Male Female Total Male Female Total Male Female Total 
			 SCS 56 19 75 1 0 1 56.9 19 75.9 
			 Grades 6/7 362 202 564 4 20 24 364.8 216.7 581.5 
			 SEO/HEO 232 192 424 0 22 22 232 206.2 438.2 
			 EO 142 137 279 3 23 26 143.6 150.7 294.3 
			 AO/AA 141 224 365 1 41 42 141.5 248.6 390.1 
			 Unknown 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Total 933 774 1707 9 106 115 938.8 841.2 1780 
			   
			 All industrial staff 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			 1 April 2005 
			 All non-industrial staff 
			  Headcount
			  Full-time staff Part-time staff Full-time equivalent 
			 Responsibility level Male Female Total Male Female Total Male Female Total 
			 SCS 61 22 83 2 1 3 62.5 22.6 85.1 
			 Grades 6/7 407 218 625 6 23 29 411.1 234.4 645.5 
			 SEO/HEO 261 245 506 2 23 25 262.1 259.6 521.7 
			 EO 133 145 278 3 23 26 134.6 159.8 294.4 
			 AO/AA 124 184 308 1 44 45 124.5 211.3 335.8 
			 Unknown 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Total 986 814 1800 14 114 128 994.8 887.7 1882.5 
			   
			 All industrial staff 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			 1 April 2006 
			 All non-industrial staff 
			  Headcount
			  Full-time staff Part-time staff Full-time equivalent 
			 Responsibility level Male Female Total Male Female Total Male Female Total 
			 SCS 56 22 78 3 3 6 58.4 23.8 82.2 
			 Grades 6/7 378 253 631 2 22 24 379.7 267.7 647.4 
			 SEO/HEO 267 210 477 0 25 25 267 226.4 493.4 
			 EO 129 131 260 5 23 28 131.5 145.3 276.8 
			 AO/AA 107 171 278 2 38 40 107.9 193.8 301.7 
			 Unknown 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Total 937 787 1724 12 111 123 944.5 857 1801.5 
			   
			 All industrial staff 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Farming (India)

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps are being taken by his Department (a) to modernise agricultural practices, (b) to increase productivity and (c) to improve access to credit for farmers in India.

Gareth Thomas: Agriculture in India is generally a success story. India is self sufficient in staple grain crops in most years and stores a substantial surplus. The so-called 'green revolution' has been the main driving force behind this success, promoting the use of improved crop varieties and fertilisers in areas with access to irrigation.
	However, the benefits of new technologies have not been equitably distributed. DFID's focus has been on improving the livelihoods of farmers and other rural people in rain-fed areas which are not suited to the particular packages of improvements offered by the green revolution. The focus on livelihoods, rather than agriculture, recognises that poor people are often landless and depend on a diverse range of activities to support themselves. However, DFID-supported projects have developed and tested appropriate new agricultural technologies and tools in these areas that have resulted in increases in production and income, more efficient and sustainable use of soil and water resources and reduction of hard manual labour, particularly for women. Some examples are treadle pumps for small scale irrigation, seed drills, paddy rice transplanters, which have made work easier as well as contributing to improvements in production.
	Consistent with this approach, DFID has concentrated on micro-credit rather than agricultural credit. DFID is working with the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) to develop the capacity of micro-finance institutions to on-lend to individuals or groups. Approximately 45 per cent. of these loans are for agriculture, livestock, fisheries or related activities. DFID's rural livelihoods projects incorporate revolving funds at the village level to support agriculture, livestock and micro-enterprise activities.

Fledgling Democracies

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 27 April 2006, Official Report, columns 1231-2W, on fledgling democracies, why his Department does not track multilateral aid; and what mechanisms are in place in his Department to evaluate the effectiveness of the programmes which UK aid funds.

Gareth Thomas: DFID reviews the effectiveness of all bilateral projects over 1 million at least once a year. This includes money which DFID country programmes channel through multilateral agencies since according to international convention this aid is classified as bilateral. DFID has a public service agreement target to achieve a sustained increase in the quality of DFID's bilateral projects. DFID reports progress towards this target in the Departmental Report and the Autumn Performance Report. This year's Departmental Report will be published on 9(th) May.
	This monitoring system cannot track core contributions to multilateral agencies because these funds are pooled. However, DFID uses a Multilateral Effectiveness Framework and other assessments to evaluate the performance of the multilateral agencies. During 2004, DFID used the Multilateral Effectiveness Framework to assess 23 multilateral agencies against their objectives. These objectives were agreed jointly with DFID and set out in an Institutional Strategy Paper. These institutional strategies are publicly available. DFID uses the results of the Multilateral Effectiveness Frameworks and other mechanisms to inform decisions around funding for the multilateral agencies.

HIV/AIDS

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the percentage of pregnant women with HIV/AIDS in developing countries who receive (a) information, (b) drugs and (c) antenatal treatment in order to prevent transmission of the virus to the child;
	(2)  what steps are being taken by his Department to link HIV/AIDS and family planning policies, with particular reference to the use of condoms;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of the relationship between steps taken to improve maternal health and the achievement of HIV/AIDS targets.

Gareth Thomas: There is a close relationship in action to improve reproductive health and family planning, maternal health and to make progress on HIV and AIDS. Closing the gap in unmet needs for family planning would make a big contribution to helping to lower maternal mortality. Sexual and reproductive health services are vital in ensuring that women have a choice about if and when to have children, and play a key role in helping them avoid sexually transmitted infection including HIV, including through condom provision.
	HIV Pregnant women with HIV and AIDS are four times more likely to die in pregnancy and childbirth than un-infected women. Women with HIV need care and services in pregnancy to help protect their own health and to help prevent transmission of HIV to their babies. The United Nations Secretary General's progress report on the 2001 Declaration of Commitment in HIV and AIDS, released in April, estimates that only 9 per cent. of HIV positive women in low and middle income countries currently receive antiretroviral drugs to prevent mother to child transmission of HIV. In countries with weak health systems this falls to less than 1 per cent..
	DFID is working to support stronger health systems, with more adequate staff, equipment and drug supplies that are needed to improve access to HIV treatment, as well as to provide women with the care needed in pregnancy, especially when complications arise. Sustained improvements in maternal health and AIDS prevention, treatment and care will in large part depend on strengthening basic health services. Access to sexual and reproductive health and family planning services must be an essential part of this effort, and we are working to ensure that the forthcoming United Nations General Assembly High Level Meeting on AIDS in June gives a clear and strong message on the importance of sexual and reproductive health to efforts to make progress in HIV and AIDS.

Palestine

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Richmond, Yorkshire, of 18 April 2006, Official Report, column 529W, on Palestine, if he will place in the Library a copy of the accounts of the Palestinian Authority audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Hilary Benn: PricewaterhouseCoopers have not yet completed their audit of the Palestinian Authority's accounts for 2003-04, although we expect them to do so shortly. As soon as the audit is completed and the details published a copy of the audit report will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Staff Development

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the total cost was of (a) staff away days and (b) staff team building exercises in his Department in each of the last three years.

Gareth Thomas: DFID does not separately record its expenditure on staff away days and staff team building exercises, and therefore is unable to provide the breakdown requested without incurring a disproportionate cost.
	DFID is committed to ensuring staff have the right skills and expertise to meet our commitment to the internationally agreed Millennium Development Goals. In November 2005, DFID launched a new People Strategy, which outlined our vision and commitments on how we will lead, manage, develop and support our people over the next three years. Individual Departments-within DFID plan and manage development away days and team building exercises for their staff in accordance with their specific needs in the context of business planning, continual professional development and performance improvement. Costs are usually met through delegated divisional or departmental training budgets.

Sub-Saharan Africa

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many trade delegations to the UK from each sub-Saharan country have received funding from the Department's bilateral country programme since 1997.

Gareth Thomas: DFID provides some support to sub-Saharan African countries for the development and facilitation of their national policies on trade, and specific issues like tourism, through its bilateral programmes. Much of DFID's support on trade to Sub Saharan Africa is provided regionally through programmes such as the Capacity-Building for Trade Policy and Negotiations and the Southern Africa Trade and Poverty Programme, and multilateral through institutions like the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
	Governments can access funds for trade delegations to the UK and other destinations from a variety of sources, many supported by DFID funds, such as the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Trust Fund for Least Developed Country Travel managed by UNCTAD. This information is not held centrally and would involve a disproportionate cost to collect. For example, a delegation of developing country trade negotiators including from sub-Saharan Africa came to the UK at the end of last year. This was funded by the European Development Fund, to which the UK makes subscriptions.

Departmental Staff

David Simpson: To ask the Solicitor-General what opportunities exist for people to work beyond retirement age in his Department.

Mike O'Brien: I am answering this question on behalf of my Departments?the Crown Prosecution Service, Serious Fraud Office, Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office, Treasury Solicitor's Department and HMCPS Inspectorate.
	In all the Departments the normal retirement age for members of the senior civil service is 60. However heads of Departments have the flexibility to retain members of the SCS beyond 60 if they judge it to be in the public interest and are satisfied about the fitness and efficiency of the individual to carry out his or her duties. This flexibility has been used from time to time.
	For staff below the SCS all Departments have reviewed, or are reviewing their retirement policies.
	For the CPS the normal retirement age is 60, though former local authority staff that joined the CPS in 1986 retain the contractual right to remain in service until age 65, under the CPS (Transfer of Staff) Regulations 1985.
	Staff at level E and below may give notice of their intention to remain beyond age 60. All others staff must demonstrate that they meet the normal requirements of their level in terms of performance, attendance and conduct.
	The SFO has a flexible retirement policy covering staff below the SCS. The policy offers a minimum retirement age of 60 years at which employees may opt to retire and receive full accrued superannuation benefits as of right. Employees cannot remain in employment beyond the day prior to their 65(th) birthday.
	The Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office has now adopted a retirement policy that enables staff to continue working until the maximum age of 65.
	The Treasury Solicitor's Department raised its normal retirement age for people below the SCS from 60 to 65 on 1 June 2006. The Department now allows people to retire at any time between the ages of 60 and 65.
	HMCPS Inspectorate has decided not to change its policy, pending the creation of a single cjs inspectorate currently being debated in the Police and Justice Bill.

Ministerial Duties (Deputy Prime Minister)

James Duddridge: To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the (a) responsibilities, (b) salary and (c) nature and value of official benefits-in-kind of each Minister in (i) the Offiice of the Deputy Prime Minister before the week beginning 1 May and (ii) the Department for Communities and Local Government in the week beginning 8 May;

Alan Duncan: To ask the Prime Minister what duties he has allocated to the Deputy Prime Minister that relate to the responsibilities of the Department for Trade and Industry.

Tony Blair: A full list of the Government and details of machinery of Government changes were announced on 5 May. Copies are available in the Libraries of the House and on the No 10 website. Details of salaries paid to Ministers are available in the Libraries of the House.

Ministerial Residences

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Prime Minister what criteria he used in allocating official residences to Members of the Government.

Tony Blair: I act in accordance with the way previous Prime Ministers have allocated official residences.

Food Education

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list the strategies introduced by his Department to support and enhance food education in schools; if he will introduce further professional development for teachers in this area; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) will put a greater emphasis on practical cooking skills in the review of the National Curriculum at Key Stage 3. QCA is also revising the criteria for food related GCSEs to put a greater emphasis on diet and health, consumer awareness, food safety and hygiene and food preparation skills. The Training Development Agency is aiming to increase the number of food technology training places in initial teacher training. We have invested 1.5 million in professional development for primary teachers through our Food in Schools programme. However, in each school, Headteachers and governors set priorities for professional development and it is for them to decide whether further food education provision is needed for their staff.
	In addition, our aim is for all schools to be working towards Healthy Schools status by 2009. The programme now includes a compulsory healthy eating strand. Schools develop whole school food policies, linking what is taught across the curriculum with the food children eat at school, to ensure that consistent messages about healthy food choices run throughout all aspects of school life. Healthy Schools co-ordinators are being trained to support schools, including on healthy eating.

GCSE

Michael Wills: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many pupils achieved five or more A* to C grades at GCSE in (a) 1997 and (b) 2006 in (i) Swindon and (ii) England.

Jim Knight: GCSE examinations have not yet been taken in 2006. The following table shows the percentage of 15-year-old pupils(1) achieving five or more GCSEs or equivalents(2) at grades A* to C in 1997 and 2005.
	
		
			  1997 2005 
			 Swindon local authority(3) 43.0 49.8 
			 England(4) 45.1 56.3 
			 (1) Pupils aged 15 at the start of the academic year (i.e. 31 August).  (2) For 1997 includes GNVQ equivalences and for 2005 all other equivalences approved for use pre 16.  (3) LA level figures only cover maintained schools.  (4) England figures cover all schools including independent schools, hospital schools and PRUs.

Mineral Water

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on the operation of the Education (School Premises) Regulations 1999; if he will amend the regulations to provide for free bottled mineral water for use in school dining halls; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The Education (School Premises) Regulations 1999 requires all maintained schools to have a wholesome supply of water for domestic purposes, including drinking water. The local authorities together with school governors are responsible for ensuring compliance with the Regulations. The Secretary of State can, under Section 497 of the Education Act 1996, take action to enforce compliance with the Education (School Premises) Regulations 1999.
	Independent Schools are subject to The Education (Independent School Standards) (England) Regulations 2003, which quote The Education School Premises Regulations 1999 in respect of water supplies. The Independent School Standards are the Regulations to which independent schools are inspected under Part 10 of the Education Act 2002. The Independent Schools Registration Authority will consider the inspectors report and can take enforcement action.
	Further guidance is available in Building Bulletin 87 (Guidelines for Environmental Design in Schools), which can be viewed on the website: www.teachernet.gov.uk/energy.
	New school food and drink standards will require all local authority maintained schools to provide drinking water, free of charge, at all times to registered pupils on school premises. We do not consider there to be valid reasons to stipulate that water should be served in bottles.
	We believe that schools are best placed to decide how best to deliver the requirements of the new standards. However, the School Food Trust plans to publish good practice guidance to assist with the implementation of the standards.

School Meals

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  if he will make a statement on the operation of the Education (Nutritional Standards for School Lunches) (England) Regulations 2000;
	(2)  if he will bring forward legislation for mandatory (a) nutrient and (b) compositional standards for school meals, including maximum and minimum levels for (i) fat, (ii) sugar, (iii) salt, (iv) vitamins and (v) minerals; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what recent steps he has (a) taken and (b) plans to take to encourage the sale of healthy foods from vending machines in (i) primary and (ii) secondary schools in (A) Southend and (B) England; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: School lunches provided in all local authority maintained schools in England must meet the minimum requirements set out in the Education (Nutritional Standards for School Lunches) (England) Regulations 2000. Introduced on 1 April 2001, the first such regulations for over 20 years, they require schools to make foods from the following groups available on a daily basis:
	Fruit and vegetables;
	Milk and dairy;
	Meat, fish and alternative sources of protein; and
	Starchy Foods
	In addition, the standards make separate requirements in relation to the frequency that certain foods e.g. red meat and fish are served.
	Later in May 2006, we intend to announce, in response to recommendations from the School Meals Review Panel and the School Food Trust, a full suite of new standards for school food.
	To implement these new standards, we intend to replace the Education (Nutritional Standards for School Lunches) Regulations 2000 with new regulations enshrining new food-based and nutrient-based standards for school lunches. In addition, the Education and Inspections Bill, currently in its parliamentary stages, includes a clause which would enable the application of standards to meals other than lunches and to other food in schools, e.g. tuck shops and vending machines.
	These standards, which will form part of our forthcoming announcement, would play a significant role in preventing the sale of less healthy foods and drinks in schools, including through vending machines.
	We believe that there are no vending machines in primary schools in England.
	Guidance on healthy vending is already in place to support secondary schools and is available through both the joint Department for Education and Skills/Department of Health 'Food in Schools' programme www.foodinschools.org and the Food Standards Agency www.food.gov.uk/news/pressreleases/2004/oct/vendinghealthy.

School Statistics

David Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of pupils live outside the local authority in which the school is located in each secondary school that selects (a) wholly and (b) partly by ability.

Jim Knight: holding answer 11 May 2006
	The information requested for wholly selective schools has been provided in the following table. We are unable to provide figures for partially selective schools as they are not designated as such and therefore the Department has no definitive list.
	
		
			 England  
			 Number of pupils attending grammar schools 111,426 
			 Number of pupils attending grammar schools residing outside school local authority 23,779 
			 Percentage of pupils attending grammar schools residing outside school local authority 21.4 
			 Number of pupils attending grammar schools with unknown residence 380 
			 Notes:1. Includes secondary, middle deemed secondary, academies and City Technology Colleges.2. Includes pupils aged 15 and under.Source: School Census January 2006 (provisional)

Afghanistan

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the Answer of 6 March 2006, Official Report, column 1183W, on Afghanistan, under what circumstances the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) will provide support to the Government of Afghanistan's counter-narcotics operations; what support will be provided; and whether any particular types of support from ISAF have been ruled out.

Des Browne: ISAF forces may provide support to Government of Afghanistan-led Counter-Narcotic efforts in a number of ways set out in an Annex to NATO's operational plan for the mission in Afghanistan. These include training of Afghan Counter-narcotic personnel and the provision of intelligence. ISAF forces are not permitted to take direct, pre-planned action against the drags trade, including eradication of opium poppy.

Departmental Staff

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) EU foreign nationals and (b) non-EU foreign nationals have been employed in his Department in each of the last five years; what vetting procedures are in place for each category of staff; and whether these include liaison with foreign law enforcement agencies.

Tom Watson: Data regarding how many EU foreign nationals that have been employed in the Department in each of the last five years is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	In line with the statutory prohibition in the Aliens Restriction (Amendment) Act 1919, the Ministry of Defence is required to provide an annual return on the number of non-UK/EU/Commonwealth citizens (aliens) employed in the Department. The MOD employed non-UK/EU/Commonwealth citizens (aliens) for the period 2001-02 to 2004-05 as follows:
	
		
			 Non-UK/EU/Commonwealth citizens employed in the MOD 
			  Number 
			 2001-02 21 
			 2002-03 34 
			 2003-04 31 
			 2004-05 30 
			 2005-06 (1) 
			 (1) Awaiting data 
		
	
	The need for an individual to undergo national security vetting, and the level of vetting that is appropriate will depend on the particular post they are going to fill. All applicants undergo the same clearance process regardless of their nationality.
	The range of checks that are required to be carried out are set out in the then Prime Minister's statement of 15 December 1994, Official Report, columns 764-66.

Ministerial Visits (Accommodation)

David Simpson: To ask the Leader of the House what the total cost was of overnight accommodation for (a) civil servants and (b) special advisers in his office staying overnight in (i) mainland Great Britain, (ii) Northern Ireland, (iii) the Republic of Ireland and (iv) other countries in each of the last three years.

Jack Straw: The information is set out in the following table. No special advisers or civil servants from the Office of the Leader of the House of Commons made overnight trips to Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland.
	
		
			  
			  Great Britain Other countries 
			  Special advisers Civil servants Special advisers Civil servants 
			 2003-04 0 0 0 0 
			 2004-05 0 0 1,122 1,122 
			 2005-06 75 0 506 505

Portland PR

Helen Goodman: To ask the Leader of the House what meetings officials in his Office have had with representatives of the public relations company Portland PR; what contracts Portland PR has with his Office and agencies for which he has responsibility; and what the nature of the contract is in each case.

Jack Straw: None.
	Two special advisers working for my right hon. Friend the Member for Ashfield (Mr. Hoon), when Leader of the House of Commons attended a summer garden party on 13 July 2005 hosted by Portland PR.

Activity Levels

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how activity levels amongst the general population have changed in the last 10 years.

Richard Caborn: According to the Health Survey for England (2004) the percentage of the population achieving the recommended levels of physical activity has increased for both men and women, from 32 per cent. in 1997 to 35 per cent. in 2004 for men, and 21 per cent. to 24 per cent. for women. This is based on undertaking a minimum of 30 minutes of at least moderate intensity activity at least five times a week.
	The new national Taking Part survey will provide robust measurement of the Department's PSA target on increasing participation in sport.